Updated Standard launched
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Working towards meeting Scottish Government’s ambitious 2045 net zero target, our Net Zero Buildings team in partnership with The Scottish Government, Zero Waste Scotland and National Services Scotland, has given the existing Net Zero Public Sector Buildings Standard an overhaul and it now includes guidance on retrofitting existing buildings.
Building on the Standard first adopted by Scottish Ministers in 2020 for newly built projects, it has been further developed to make project teams aware of current and forthcoming local, regional and national net zero policies for the refurbishment of existing buildings as well as constructing new ones.
Helping to make the Standard easier to use, it now has its own dedicated website where a whole suite of supporting documents and third-party resources can be quickly accessed and used.
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Wallyford Campus handed over to East Lothian Council
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Just under a fortnight ago, hub South East handed over the Wallyford Learning Campus to East Lothian Council; the first secondary school to be completed through the SFT-managed Learning Estate Investment Programme.
The main construction work started in August 2021 with contractors having to navigate Covid-19 restrictions and significant construction market challenges to achieve this handover in time for the phased opening which started last week.
Wallyford Learning Campus brings together the newly-established Rosehill High School with further education partnerships, a library, a community centre and health and social care services.
Surrounded by three synthetic and two grass sports pitches, the landscaped grounds include separate gardens for The Brae, Rosehill’s provision for young people with severe and complex needs, and for the community playgroup’s area. There is also Community Agriculture Academy which will be used by Scotland's Rural College to deliver qualifications and Edinburgh College is also part of the campus site delivering construction qualifications.
A short video of the new Campus has been recorded and you can watch it by clicking the link below.
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Council-built homes for rent or sale
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Scotland needs more homes to meet the needs of its population – this means that housing of different types and tenures is required.
Until now, delivering housing has meant that significant levels of new market activity has typically been split into two categories – private sector developers building open market value housing for sale; and councils and Housing Associations building and retaining affordable homes for rent.
But what happens in an area where there is no active private sector development of homes for sale or rent, but there is demand for new housing from people that do not meet the requirements for affordable homes?
Our Place, Housing and Economic Investment Team has a remit to support the development and delivery of housing across different tenures to meet the economic and social needs of Scotland.
Given this position, the Team has been exploring the potential for councils to deliver more housing across a wide range of tenures, including the development of market-value housing for rent and/or for sale, with Burness Paull LLP asked to provide legal advice and Brodies LLP creating some hypothetical case studies.
The link below takes you to the Housing workstream page on the SFT website where you can find details of these reports and other housing related materials.
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We work with the public and private sectors to maximise the benefits coming from infrastructure investment and building strong partnerships are at the heart of that work.
Helping us understand more about what makes great partnerships and collaborations work, we have invited industry experts and key thinkers to take part in our new podcast programme, Scottish Infrastructure Matters, aimed at delving deeper to explore infrastructure topics that matter to us all.
Our first podcast is on the importance of ‘Place’ and its role in shaping great partnerships for impact. In this, our first episode, our place expert Diarmaid Lawlor talks to Sara Thiam, CEO of SCDI who looks at Scotland’s place in the world and the contribution our places and our people have on the economy.
You can listen via the link below.
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Launch of Scotland’s Public Sector Heat Decarbonisation Fund with SFT's support
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In mid-July, Scottish Government launched a new funding scheme offering up to £20 million in grants to support the decarbonisation of public sector buildings.
This new grant scheme brings councils and universities into the fold of organisations eligible to receive Scottish Government grants for retrofit decarbonisation measures.
Our Net Zero Buildings team has worked with the Scottish Government's Directorate of Energy and Climate Change to ensure its policy objectives of removing fossil fuel heating systems, reducing energy demand and connecting to heat networks are embedded front and centre, as requirements of the scheme.
Adopting the Net Zero Public Sector Buildings Standard (as highlighted above) is signposted by the scheme as a way applicants can demonstrate they are taking a strategic, whole-building approach that is both place and carbon literate.
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Planning advisory group established
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Following the formal adoption of the National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) by Scottish Ministers at the start of the year, a crucial element of delivering the NPF4 would be the establishment of a Planning, Infrastructure and Place Advisory Group (PIPAG).
Scottish Government has now set up the PIPAG, with Tony Rose, SFT's Director, Strategy, Place and Economy acting as co-chair alongside Fiona Simpson, Chief Planning Officer at Scottish Government.
The Group consists of a wide range of industry leaders from across the public and private sectors and includes:
- John Hamilton, Winchburgh Developments
- Scott Mathieson, Scottish Power Energy Networks
- Martin McKay, Clyde Gateway
- Rachel Skinner, WSP
- Jane Wood, Homes for Scotland
- Iain Docherty, Stirling University
For a full list of members and to read over details of the Group's draft Delivery Programme update, please click the link below.
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Review of plug-in EV uptake data
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Scottish Government has published its Vision for Scotland’s Public Electric Vehicle Charging Network.
In support of the Vision and to help industry understand the level of EV uptake in Scotland, our Net Zero Transport team commissioned research that found uptake levels could be as much as 16% higher than currently published statistics, taking the number of vehicles being used on Scotland’s roads up to around 67,000.
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